Redshirt freshman forward Luke Hager could help the Seahawks on the defensive backboards this season.

Five to Follow is a series of statistics we’re tracking each week this season. The Seahawks have struggled in each area of late, and improvement should produce more victories. For the first four entries, click Five to Follow under the ‘Categories’ section in the drop down menu in the righthand column.

The final installment, defensive rebounding, circles back around to the first, defensive efficiency.

A possession can end in one of three ways – through a field goal attempt, a free throw attempt or a turnover. We covered turnovers earlier, showing that UNCW has committed them too frequently, and forced them too infrequently in recent seasons, generating a negative turnover margin. When a shot is missed the other two end in a rebound, obviously. Ken Pomeroy’s data tells us that the offensive team gets the rebound on roughly one-third of misses (32.7 percent last season in Division I), leaving the other two-thirds (or better, ideally) to the defense.

The Seahawks have rededicated themselves to playing good defense this preseason. UNCW coach Buzz Peterson has reiterated to his players the correlation between playing good defense and playing at all. With the luxury of more depth than he’s had at UNCW, coupled with competitive battles for the starting lineup, the third-year coach can hold players accountable for blown assignments, poor rotations and general defensive lethargy.

Regardless the strength of a team’s “first-shot defense,” surrendering offensive rebounds at a high rate – as recent UNCW teams have – is efficiency suicide.

First, an offensive rebound often occurs near the basket, leaving a short putback opportunity for a tall player. Next, the defensive team can be scrambled after a miss, vulnerable to committing fouls. And finally, what smart players do when they get an offensive rebound and don’t have a clear path to the basket, is pass the ball out to a savvy shooter who has spotted up for a wide-open 3-point shot. This strategy helped a less-than-great Duke team win the 2010 national championship. Thomas or Zoubek rebounded, and passed to Smith, Singler or Scheyer for an open 3-pointer – and they usually delivered a swish that demoralized the defense.

UNCW – Defensive Rebounding Percentage and Rank.

Season

Record

Def. Reb Pct

Rank

CAA DRP

Rank

11-12

10-21

66.9

218

68.3

4

10-11

13-18

63.5

323

66.3

8

09-10

9-22

64.4

292

65.5

6

08-09

7-25

66.6

206

65.8

10

07-08

20-13

68.1

124

69.1

6

06-07

7-22

70.2

33

71.2

1

05-06

25-7

68.7

53

69.9

1

04-05

19-10

71.7

10

70.6

1

03-04

15-15

67.6

102

67.8

5

02-03

24-7

66.8

136

65.7

7

As you can see, this statistic mirrors the program’s demise (I need to figure out how to make a post-worthy graph). From 2002-03 to 2007-08 the Seahawks were better than the average D1 team at glass cleaning, and from 04-05 thru 06-07 excelled, finishing first in the CAA in conference games. The 2004-05 team flourished, in part, because John Goldsberry (3.7 rebounds per game) and T.J. Carter (3.9 rpg) were strong rebounders out of the backcourt. Balanced boarding was the key, as five players averaged between 3.7 and 6.4

But the last four seasons, the Hawks sank below the national average and finished fourth or worse in the CAA, although the 2011-12 numbers should be encouraging to Peterson because the team protected the defensive backboard better as the season progressed.

How does the Seahawks current personnel rate on the glass? There are unknowns, but this is the tallest team in school history. That should help.

And, Keith Rendleman is one of the best rebounders – on either end – in the CAA. He finished seventh in the conference in individual defensive rebounding percentage last year (20.7 – or he grabbed roughly 1 in 5 available defensive rebounds when he was in the game). After Rendleman there was a steep dropoff, however. Cedrick Williams, the freshman who started 23 games and emerged as one of the best offensive rebounders in the CAA (3rd / 12.8 pct.) needs to show improvement on the defensive glass. He was the next best Seahawk at 14.3 percent, 27th in the conference. Freddie Jackson (12.9 percent) was the only other UNCW player in the CAA Top 50.

There’s not much glory in defensive rebounding, dodging all those elbows 94 feet from your basket. Comes down to who wants the ball. I’ve seen hustle on the glass in practice and Dylan Sherwood grabbed four defensive boards in 12 minutes in the exhibition game. But the intensity meter down there on the block is about to rise. Folks will bruise – and bleed.

Before we set the Seahawks goal, I have one final request. Don’t pay attention to rebound margin, that antiquated and inadequate measure of rebounding prowess. Coaches will refer to it. Conferences will track it. Commentators on your TV will spout it. Ignore them all. I don’t have time to explain why it holds so little value, just trust me.

Goal: Top 5 in the CAA and top 125 in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage. The actual percentage is less important than how the Hawks fare relative to their competition.

About This Blog

Hey there, I’m StarNews staff writer Eric Detweiler, and I handle the UNCW beat. I’m a Pennyslvania native who went to the University of Maryland and came to Wilmington in August 2013 after stops in Denver and Washington, D.C. Feel free to reach out with questions or comments about our coverage of the Seahawks. Thanks for reading.